Daijiworld Media Network - Kinshasa

Kinshasa, Aug 19: At least 52 civilians, including women and children, were brutally killed by Islamic State-backed Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebels in the Beni and Lubero regions of eastern Democratic Republic of Congo over the past week, UN and local officials confirmed.

According to Lieutenant Elongo Kyondwa Marx, spokesperson of the Congolese army, the rebels carried out the killings in revenge after suffering setbacks in clashes with government forces. “When they arrived, they first woke the residents, gathered them in one place, tied them up with ropes, and then began to massacre them with machetes and hoes,” said Macaire Sivikunula, chief of Lubero’s Bapere sector.

In the village of Melia alone, around 30 people were killed, while several homes were set ablaze. “Among the victims were children and women whose throats were slit in their homes,” said Alain Kiwewe, military administrator for Lubero territory.

The United Nations mission in Congo (MONUSCO) condemned the violence “in the strongest possible terms,” confirming that the attacks between August 9 and 16 left at least 52 dead, including eight women and two children. Officials warned the death toll could rise as search operations continue.

The ADF, one of several armed groups vying for control of Congo’s mineral-rich east, has stepped up attacks despite intensified military operations by Congolese and Ugandan forces. In late July, ADF rebels carried out a church attack that killed 38 people.